(WWJ) Estimates say one-third of Macomb County's workforce could be sidelined over the next weeks and months due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Like private business, Executive Mark Hackel said the county is trying to figure out work from home solutions, and more, to keep the county thriving in the face of pandemic.
Worker safety is the No. 1 goal, Hackel said.
To that end, Hackel said he's ordered department heads to come up with specific plans for keeping the government operating with as few workers as possible moving around in the world.
"The government can't shut down," Hackel said, noting that public safety, traffic enforcement, health services and more are essential, but "there are other areas of government that support that, IT people... and what we've done is scaled back," Hackel told WWJ's Ron Dewey
Eight staffers in the Prosecutor's Office are quarantined after suspected exposure to the virus, though no one in Macomb County government has tested positive.
One of the nine people who has died so far in Michigan from coronavirus lived in Macomb County.
To stave off long-term disruption as much as possible, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announced a stay at home order for Michigan residents Monday that requires people to stay home unless they're doing something essential, like visiting the grocery store, doctor or pharmacy. Take-out food deliveries are permitted. Details on the order are HERE.
The goal is to lower infection rates and protect health care system from a surge of patients.
For up-to-the-minute updates on coronavirus in Michigan click wwjnewsradio.com/coronavirus and TUNE in to WWJ 950 on air or on any digital device.
